The Scottish Maritime Museum has announced a schools travel subsidy to increase the number of Ayrshire schoolchildren participating in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) activities.

This is the second year running that the Scottish Maritime Museum has secured funding to offer local authority schools a travel subsidy of up to £250 towards private coach hire to the Museum on Irvine’s Harbourside.

The scheme, which applies to visits until June 2020, is designed, in particular, to enable schools in areas of deprivation or rural isolation or without access to public transport, to take part in Curriculum for Excellence linked out-of-school STEM learning at the Museum.

The Museum is accepting bookings for now until Summer 2020 but, as the funding is a fixed amount and therefore offered on a ‘first come, first served’ basis, schools are urged to get in touch now or as soon as they are able.

Jamie Menzies from the Scottish Maritime Museum, said: “With a nationally recognised collection of maritime heritage and engineering, the Scottish Maritime Museum is an exciting and directly relatable place for schoolchildren to embrace STEM learning, in particular engineering and mathematics.

“We have great trails, workshops and a flexible programme which means schools can choose between activities led by trained staff or self-guided experiences.

“We also offer ample space for packed lunches and schools can also combine a half day visit to the Museum with a trip to Irvine Harbourside.

“Our education team is also happy to develop bespoke sessions catered to an individual school’s needs.

“We’re excited to offer this travel subsidy and welcome more schoolchildren to the Museum, particularly those who have been unable to visit before due to prohibitive transport costs.”

Schools interested in the subsidy or booking a visit should contact the Museum’s education team by emailing education@scotmaritime.org.uk or calling 01294 278283.